Black Bear photographed in Mulmur

Carl Cosack, owner of Peace Valley Ranch in Mulmur Township, got more than he bargained for returning home on his motorcycle from the Honeywood Beef Barbeque on July 23.

He and his guest from Switzerland came across a young black bear out for an evening stroll on Prince of Wales Road just south of County Road 21.

The photo is a little fuzzy, as it is a screen shot of a hasty video filmed by his guest from the back of the motorcycle, but it is clearly a black bear.

In the original video, the bear can be seen moving languidly down the road.

Mr. Cosack guesses the bear to be approximately two years old and “very comfortable in his/her surroundings.”

When asked if the bear appeared aggressive, Cosack said, “not at all…just curious and tolerant.”

However, as the driver of the motorcycle, Carl said he did have some concerns about “motorcycle to bear protocol.”

He said the bear “clearly knew the area since it went down the road to the next available laneway - rather than try and jump fences or swim a wetland, it ran onto the laneway about 20 yards and waited for us to roll by… no hurry. As we did roll by, it slowly ran up the driveway to give us a last look when we disappeared.

“It is just good to know that the rumours of bears being around are true,” said Carl, “This one had an "I am at home here" feel to it, not a stranger to the neighbourhood.”

As beef farmers and horse ranchers, Mr. Cosack says, “We are always aware here, trusting the horses to let us know if something really unusual is around and we do listen to them. We know them well enough to know when they are serious out there.

“MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) officials have warned me about [bears] in the past since we are outdoor operators.”

But, says he is not worried as he does not consider black bears a threat to his livestock.

Bears are not a creature to be approached under any circumstances, but the rancher says “It was very exciting to see, very shiny and long legged.”

“I was not about to stop,” said Cosack, “but was as courteous to it as it was to us.”

Carl Cosack is well known to the area as the former Chair of the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT).

He dedicated years, along with his neighbours, to protecting the land and water of the Headwaters from proposed open pit mining by the Highland Company.

Perhaps this rare sighting of resurfacing wildlife is one his rewards.